For The Love Of Daphne
by Pat2Trivia4Me
Summary: Niles loves Daphne & has never questioned it for a moment, but what would keep them apart? Niles finds himself about to lose everything in his life and there is nothing he can do about it. In the hands of the fate, what can he do to show his love 4 her?
1. Chapter 1

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Niles Crane sat behind his office desk with all intentions of not working late this evening. He had buried himself deep within his copy of the Fourth Edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Professor Williams was under extreme stress and it seemed to be coming to a head. Niles knew he was missing something… something that could help… something that could bring peace and harmony… he was holding the key, but the key seemed to be buried… lost somewhere in his subconscious from all of the sessions he had had with this patient and somewhere in the strongholds of the science of mental disorders. He felt that there was something substantial in the session notes that he had reviewed two dozen times, but he couldn't seem to draw out the red flag that of which was what his subconscious continued to tug at him. His head throbbed. He rubbed his head with his left hand as if it were going to magically rub the splitting headache out of his head. When he stood to retrieve the desk keys from his pocket, the headache responded with a pounding that almost caused him to lose his balance. Heavily blinking his eyes, he braced his stance and managed to get the key into the drawer keyhole and open it to get a bottle of ibuprofen. He downed one of the 800 milligram pills. At this point, he didn't care that he didn't have any water readily by to take it with.

He glanced over at the picture on his desk in a dark mahogany frame. It was his beloved wife with their child cradled in her arms. A smile emerged through the pain of his head. He knew just how blessed he was. He had such a beautiful family. With all of the bad luck in relationships he had had in his life, it was times like these that he often wondered what he had done that put such blessings in his life like Daphne and David.

His head began to swim in this pain of a headache and he managed to lower himself back into this soft leather seat. Perhaps he should call it a night. He glanced at the clock at the edge of his desk and closed his eyes when he realized what time it was. He had made a promise to himself that he would never work this late… never be so long away from the family that he cherished so.

He rubbed his hands over his face. He had to make a pot of coffee to stay wake long enough to crawl into bed with his wife. The caffeine would just increase the level of pain in his head, but he had to do what he had to do to get home safely.

Carefully, he walked around his desk and through his office doorway to the reception area. At the coffee station, he started a pot of coffee.

His cell phone sounded off. "Oh, why didn't she call the office rather than my cell?" He walked back into the office with his arms swaying as if he was in a sleep-state. At the coat rack, he dipped his hand into is jacket pocket and retrieved the phone. "Hello…" he stopped short as if he was cut off. "Oh my God," his posture stiffened. "Are you okay?" He listened. "My dear, I'm always here for you. How did this happen… When did this happen?... Now calm down. Take a deep breath. Is the baby okay?... Call the police right now… No, I don't see how that is possible. Be strong love. I need you to be strong. Please listen to me very carefully. Take a moment to think this over. Your adrenaline is pumping, so you might not be fully aware of this. Are you hurt?... How badly are you bleeding?... What is your location?... DON'T DO THIS TO ME! Can you get to a safe place and call the police?... No, that's a bad idea. Listen to me… listen to me… I'm on my way. I am on my way." With that, Niles yanked his jacket free from the coat rack and spun toward the door.

3


	2. Chapter 2

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Martin quietly made his way down stairs in the dark, looking over his shoulder at every little squeak the wooden steps made. When he reached the bottom of the steps, he took in a deep breath and let out a whispering sigh. He had made it this far and there was no turning back.

With the aid of his cane, he made his way across the section of wood flooring where the carpet began. It made a whining creek, causing Martin to cringe and shrug his shoulders. He was almost sure that he had woken his wife. Yet there wasn't a sound from upstairs.

More at ease now, he stepped up on the carpet and made his way over to the dining room table where a container rested in the middle of the table. Reaching the table, he let his cane stand beside him as he slowly and carefully reached for the container. Gingerly, he lifted the lid to reveal a double-dutch creamy chocolate cake. "Come to papa baby," he whispered so softly that he almost didn't hear himself. He picked up the knife resting alongside of the container and delicately let it slice into the rich, velvety icing.

"Marty, are you down stairs eating that cake?" Ronee yelled down from her warm spot in bed.

Martin stuttered his actions, almost falling face first into the cake. He turned to the stairs with a disgusted look on his face as he took a hold of his cane again. "No, I'm not eating your fancy cake," he called back up.

"Well good then. It's for tomorrow," she called back.

"Well, then good," he snapped back with attitude. He started to walk away, but peered back at the cake. He stopped short and glared temptation in the face. "Oh, what the hell? I can fill the missing piece with more frosting." Taking the knife back up, he cut deeper into the cake. The damage is already done, he thought. It's officially a cake homicide. Such a small piece would only be attempted dessert murder, anyway. This is my first offence, so the wife should go easy on me. She knows I'm down here, so indirectly, she could be noted as an accomplice. Not to mention aiding and abetting if she lets me go back to bed without investigating downstairs for evidence.

Using his left hand as a catcher of crumbs as he guided the big piece of cake to his mouth, he stuffed it in like a wonder of chocolate richness of dreamy delight.

The phone rang.

Martin nearly jumped right off of the ground, being startled like he was. He darted his eyes to the clock on the wall. Who could be calling at this hour? It was 12:52 in the morning.

Again the phone rang. "Are you going to get that?" Ronee called out.

Martin started to panic. He tried to answer her, but he had a mouth full of cake. He stammered, set the rest of his uneaten piece of cake back in the spot of the cake it came from, and then raced toward the kitchen just as fast as his cane would take him.

The phone rang a third time as Martin threw open the refrigerator door and snatched the half gallon of milk free from it.

"Marty! The phone!"

He fumbled for a cup, but just couldn't get to one fast enough for this emergency. He opened the carton and drank from it as fast as he could. Milk spilled slightly down both sided of his cheeks. He swallowed hard and called out in a weak voice, "I'll get it."

The phone sounded yet again. He made his way for the phone, looking like the Energizer Bunny with a cane. He snatched up the receiver before his wife decided to investigate. Martin shot a glance back at the table where there were crumbs of evidence all over the place. "I wasn't eating the cake," he spoke into the phone. He held his free hand up to his forehead. "I'm sorry… I mean, 'Hello'."

There was sobbing on the other end. It was a woman, but she was weeping so heavily, he couldn't tell who it could be. "Hello, are you there?"

The lady on the other end said something, but again, he couldn't understand her.

"I'm sorry. I can't understand you," he said as he wiped some milk and crumbs from his mouth.

This time, she took the time to make her words heard. "It's Daphne."

"Daphne, what is it? What's wrong?" He hadn't realized that he had raised his voice. He could hear Ronee getting out of bed, but at this point, he didn't mind. He listened, but had to tell her, "Daph, I can't understand you. You're going to have to slow down. Is everything okay? Is David okay? Is Niles okay?"

"Niles was working late."

"Yeah, yeah." The eagerness in his voice coached her for more as Ronee made her way down the stairs in her bath robe.

"He isn't home."

"He's not home yet?" He shot another look at the clock.

"I had fallen asleep on the couch and was woken by one of me visions."

"What about?" he asked curiously.

"I saw Niles at work talking on the phone to another woman."

"What about," his eagerness revealed his value in her visions.

"I couldn't tell."

Martin sighed a sigh of relief. "Come on, Daph. If you have any doubts, all Niles ever dreamt about was you. And I'm sure he's okay. He probably fell asleep at work."

"I called his work several times and he's not answering his cell." She was still sobbing.

Martin swallowed hard. He wasn't sure what to say.

Ronee stepped up to Martin and placed a concerned hand upon his chest.

"Give me two seconds to get dressed," he told Daphne. "I'm going out to his office."

"Martin Crane, you better come get me first. David and I are going with you." Her tone was not the tone of a woman asking, but instructing.

"Alright. I'll see you soon." He hung up the phone and headed for the stairs.

Ronee followed right behind him. "I'm going too. I can watch David at Niles' place. That way if Niles shows up at home, I can fill him in on what's going on."


	3. Chapter 3

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Daphne had a spare set of keys to the building which Niles worked. She and Martin took the elevator to the floor of Niles' office. When they reached the glass doors with his name etched into it, the doors were open.

"You see," Martin said with a tone of ease. "He's still here."

Ask they stepped into the well-light reception area, Daphne called out, "Niles!"

There was no reply.

They hurried to his office where the lights were still on and the door was wide open. Daphne found his cell phone on the rug just inside the door. She was quick to snatch it up. "So this is why he hasn't been answering his phone."

"You see Daph, he's probably home now waiting for you to get there," Martin tried to sound convincing. "Why don't we just head over there now?" He turned her toward the door and turned out the office lights as she exited.

"It's just not like Niles to leave his cell phone behind, not to mention leave all the lights on and leave his office unlocked."

"Well, he was probably in a hurry to get back to you…" He stumbled for words of comfort. "And maybe he was a little tired and just forgot to lock up. Things happen."

"You really think so?"

"Sure", he said with a grin.

He lead her out of the front door. "Here, give me the keys to lock up. I'll turn off the lights. You go call the elevator. I'll be right there."

"Alright then." She wiped her nose with the tissue she had in her hand as she started down the corridor.

Martin went back to Niles' office and retrieved something off of the floor. On the way back to the front of the reception area, he noticed the red light on the coffee maker. He took note of the water level to get an idea of how long it would have taken that much coffee to burn off from a full pot of coffee, assuming that none of it was poured. He switched it off and then went over to turn the lights out and then lock up.

As Martin drove her back to her place, something was eating at him. He couldn't let it show, not in front of his daughter-in-law. He knew how articulate his son was just as she did. He knew she was on the verge of breaking down into hysterics, but she wanted to keep that glimmer of hope. Niles could have dropped his phone by mistake, but the lights, the coffee maker and then the office wide open. Martin was eager to get on the horn with some of his precinct buddies to see if they had anything useful. Perhaps Martin could persuade them to put out an APB on Niles' car. It wasn't in the parking lot when they drove up to the building. Something was "a miss" and he felt Daphne sinking into a dark place and knew she felt it so much more than he did.

He tried to keep light conversation with her on the way, but neither one of them wanted to carry it through. They just wanted answers and wanted to know their next plans. He didn't want to alarm her about needing to call his buddies down town, but by the time they reached the parking structure of The Montana, she suddenly spoke. "I'll use Niles' cell to start calling hospitals while you use the house phone to call you buddies on the force."

"Sure," Martin nodded. "If he's not waiting at home already, we'll make those calls. Perhaps we should call Triple-A to see if he placed a call. It's so late, maybe he would think twice about calling and waking us up, if he broke down."

Daphne nodded without looking his way. She felt if she spoke anymore about it, she would break down into an uncontrollable siege of tears.

They took the elevator up to the apartment where Ronee was waiting. As they had felt in their hearts, Niles, of course, was not there.

"Daph, why don't you make your calls in the kitchen and I'll make mine here in the den."

She nodded as the tears started again. Ronee started to join Daphne, but Martin took a hold of her wrist. When Daphne was in the kitchen, Ronee turned to him. "What is it?" she asked with great concern.

"Something is wrong. Something is awfully wrong."

"What?" she repeated.

"His office was wide open with all of the lights on and the coffee pot on."

"That certainly doesn't sound like Niles."

"Yeah, and Daphne found his cell phone on the floor in his office. She didn't notice, but I found his wallet next to the coat rack in his office." He pulled it out of his pocket to show her.

"Oh my God Martin."

"Yeah," he said with great concern.


	4. Chapter 4

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Niles walked into Café Nervosa. The smell of espresso was still in the air, but everything was different. There was no one inside; not even the staff. The tables, walls and the countertop were white and everything else was black; the chairs, the rest of the counter, and the table legs. There was a cup of espresso to go on the counter with Niles' name on it. He dipped a hand into his jacket pocket to retrieve his wallet, but it was not there. He checked his other jacket pocket and found nothing. He reached around to his back pocket and came up short, yet there was a dagger sharp pain running through his leg that almost made him buckle. He reached for the coffee, but something was pinning him to the wall, yet no one was there. They weren't pinning him to the wall, they were pressing him to the floor. No, wait, they could have been pinning him to the ceiling for all he knew because his sense of balance was nowhere he could retrieve it from. Then the side wall of the café, the side on the left where the book shelves are, fell backwards leaving an area of an abyss of blackness. Then the darkness seeped into the café overtaking the light. Was he dreaming?

The tunnel vision widened and he could start to make out the shape of tree limbs in the night sky. He wasn't up against something, he was flat on his back and there was the sound of an electric can opener opening a can of cat food. It was a huge drum of a cat food can because the sound of the electric can opener was not ceasing. There was a sweet smell in the air that Niles could not recognize. He wiped the sweat from his forehead to then realize that it wasn't just sweat from his brow. It was blood.

He had been in a major accident; an accident that he could not recall. The pain in his leg was that of his BMW on top of it. The electric can opener sound was one of his imbalanced wheels still spinning. What had happened? What had taken place and how did he get here?

He was breathing heavy and his skin was getting cold. He could start to make out the stars in the sky more clearly. Were his pupils dilating? Was he going into shock? He had to stay awake and try to stay warm. If he fell asleep, he may go on sleeping forever.

Memories; he would fall back on his wonderful memories to keep his heart rate up and his adrenalin flowing. One of his greatest moments was the first kiss that he and Daphne shared. It was at the dance when they danced the tango where they shared at wonderfully tender kiss.

"How you feeling?" Daphne's beautiful face was leaned over his. He was in the hospital. He had made it. He was going to live!

"I'm a little woozy. Maybe I should lie down." Wait a minute. He wasn't saying that. This was the conversation they shared when he was in the hospital just before his heart surgery. "Oh, now Daphne, you know all the important papers are in my top left hand drawer..."

"Let's not talk about that right now. You just relax."

"Okay, Daphne. You know, Daphne, they do these procedures hundreds of times."

"I know."

"Okay. It's practically routine, Daphne."

"Why do you keep saying my name?"

"I just want to say it as many times as I can... Daphne."

The dark sky came back and the dark branches that hung over him. "Am I going to die?" he asked the heavens above, but there was no answer. "I don't mean to be blasphemous, but did you hear the line, 'Jesus is coming, so look busy'." Niles smiled. "I thought you might like that one."

He found his cell phone in his hands. He couldn't seem to open it. "That's okay, you see, I can only remember Frasier's old cell phone number; the one he used when he used to live here in Seattle. That must mean that I'm pretty messed up, eh? If I can't even remember my own home phone number. Frasier left us, you know. He left us here all alone."

"I haven't been far," Frasier's voice came from the left.

Niles turned to see Frasier glowing and transparent. He was wearing a cloaked robe. "Frasier, what brings you out this far? Searching for some droid, are you? You've never missed a moment to show me up. And here you are appearing to me as the master jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"I'm a figment of your imagination. The one person you've always looked up to and valued their opinion, and good psychiatrist could pick up on that."

"There you go showing me up again. That's exactly what I'm talking about."

"Oh, you're just jealous that the force is not as strong with you."

"Oh, I can see right through you."

Niles' comment made him chuckle. "You know, the reason I came down here was to make sure you don't fall asleep."

"And there you go stating the obvious."

"Oh you're the one to talk, you're always stating…" Frasier caught himself. "Look at us. There we go bickering again."

Niles swallowed. "I'm sorry Frasier. I've got a lot on my mind lately."

"And a lot on your leg too." He chuckled.

"Laughter is the best medicine, isn't it?"

"Yes, you could say it is."

"Oh wait, that only applies WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE A CAR ON YOUR LEG."

"Sorry Niles. I was only trying to make light of the situation to help you through this."

"You're a good brother Frasier."

"And a good psychiatrist?"

"You're a good brother Frasier."

"Niles, that's avoidance."

"I tell you what I'd like to avoid…"

Suddenly Frasier wasn't so transparent. He wasn't in the robe anymore, but now in his suit and sitting on a leather chair next to Niles with a pen a pad of paper in his hand. "Now, when did you first know the wait of the car on your leg?"

"Frasier, this isn't an emotional weight on my mind, it's the weight of a car on my leg."

"I know Niles. I would like to take a moment to tell you what a pleasure it has been having you as my brother and my friend. I truly love you."

"Hey, what are you saying? It sounds like my eulogy."

"No Niles, you're not going to die. You have far too much to live for. You have a handsome son whom you have so much to teach and so much to share."

Niles nodded.

"Besides, who is going to tell him about all of the germs to beware of?"

"True."

"And Daphne loves you so."

Tears streaked his cheeks.

There was a wetness upon his face; his forehead. "Frasier, you know I'm trapped here, please tell me that's water."

"It's starting to rain Niles."

He looked up to see Frasier's figure above him. "Why does it look like you're pouring it on me?"

"Because I am going to make sure it keeps you awake. I'm not leaving you Niles and you're not leaving me."

Niles' tunnel vision started again. "Frasier where are you? I can't see you anymore. FRASIER!"


	5. Chapter 5

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Daphne walked into the dining room as Martin finished his call, "Alright Bob, call me at this number if you get wind of anything."

Ronee put an arm around Daphne.

"Nothing yet Daphne," he told her. "But Seattle's best is on it and they won't back down for a minute."

"Where could he be?" she asked in anger.

"I'm calling Frasier."

"What is he going to do?" she snapped.

"Maybe he has an idea of where he might have gone at this time of night."

"Don't expect the worse, honey," Ronee tried to comfort her.

"How can I not", she snapped back, almost yelling. She went into the kitchen again.

Martin dialed and waited for Frasier to pick up. "Frase, hey son, I need you to wake up. Your brother never made it home last night. We're over here at his place with Daphne and she's going stir crazy."

"Alright dad, alright. What time is it?"

Martin checked his watch. "It's going on two thirty."

"Have you tried his cell?"

"We went over to his office and found his office unlocked with his cell phone and his wallet by the coat rack."

"Oh dear," Frasier's voice had dropped.

"We've also called Triple-A, my contacts down town and the hospitals. We're running out of options."

Daphne was screaming from the top of her lungs from the kitchen. "IF YOU KNOW WHERE MY HUSBAND IS, YOU HAD BETTER CALL ME BACK! I KNOW JUST WHO YOU ARE AND WHERE I CAN FIND YOU!"

"Ah, Frasier," Martin said in a lower voice. "I'll call you right back." He hung up the phone as Daphne came in from the kitchen weeping uncontrollably. "Daph, what the hell was that?"

She sat down on the couch between Martin and Ronee and sobbed like she was going to keep crying until there was nothing left of her. Finally, she handed the phone to Martin. "The last inbound call…on his cell…was just before midnight… it was a woman named Becky…I just left her a message… on her machine."

Martin took the phone from her and checked for the number. He used the house phone again. "Bob, it's me, Marty again. Could you run this number and send a car over there to see if my son might be over there. Thanks." He gave the number over the phone. "It appears to be someone with the first name of Becky." He then ended the call, "Thanks again Bob."

He turned to Daphne. "It's gotta be one of his patients."

Daphne nodded as she sobbed in Ronee's arms.

The phone rang. Frasier was calling back. "Dad, what the hell is going on?"

"He's missing Frasier. I was hoping you might have an idea where he might go in the middle of the night like this."

"To hell with that Dad, I'm catching the next flight out. You know as well as I that wild horses couldn't keep him from coming home every night."

"I didn't expect you to fly out here," Martin protested.

Frasier was sitting up in bed when he picked up his wrist watch to double check it against his alarm clock. "Listen, I won't be able to get a flight out until 6:30 or 7. So if he shows up and everything is okay, you can call me on my cell and I won't come. If you don't call before I board the plane, I will be on my way."

"Alright son, but do you think you might be able to point us in a direction to keep us from going completely mad over here?"

"Let me think." Frasier took a moment. "Try the phone book for all night cafes. Perhaps he may have headed to one of a coffee."

"Well, I found his coffee pot on at work. I don't think he went for coffee."

"Listen Dad, I'm going to jump in the shower and get some coffee myself. If I think of anything, I will call you right away."

"Thanks son."

Frasier hung up when Charlotte rolled over in bed.

"What is it? What's going on?"

"Niles didn't come home last night. No one knows where he is. I'm going to catch the next flight home."

Charlotte turned on the lamp next to the bed. "I'll help you pack."

"You don't have to do that; I can manage on my own."

"On your own? I'm going with you."

"Charlotte, you don't have to fly to Seattle with me."

"Hey, we're a team." She sat up, closer to him. "Don't you think we make a good team?"

He kissed her. "Of course I do."

David started crying. Martin jumped up to take care of him, but Daphne jumped up, insisting that she go care for him. She nearly stumbled and gasped for air. Martin and Ronee jumped to their feet. Martin went to catch her. "I'm alright," she managed to say without even looking their way. She got to the hallway and out of their view when she leaned against the wall and the tears fell. She just couldn't bring herself to tell them that she had just had another vision. This one was of Niles in a very dark place.

Martin redialed Becky's number, but the phone rang and rang until the answering machine picked up again. "This is Martin Crane. I am desperately looking for my son Niles Crane. If you have any information of his whereabouts, please give me a call." He left Niles' home number on the answering machine before hanging up.

In the room where David's crib was, she held onto him for dear life. She slumped in the corner with him…and they cried together.


	6. Chapter 6

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Niles couldn't see two inches in front of himself. He was completely in the darkness just this side of consciousness and all alone. His breathing was out of control and he couldn't feel his right leg at all. He was at heaven's gate and he knew it. He lay there listening to the thundering of his heart.

"How much to you love me?" Daphne's voice whispered through the naked tree branches that stretched out above his body in the dim lighting of the moon.

"Daphne, there is no way to measure a source that is endless." He said, but the words were slurred in his mouth.

"Do one thing for me," her voice sounded like the breath of an angel in the wind.

"Anything," he tried to say. "I love you so." Tears ran down the sides of his head.

"Hold on. Hold on for me. Hold on just as tight as you can. I adore you."

"I will. I will hold on." He couldn't even understand the noises he made himself as he tried to speak to her.

"Please hold on my love," were her last words he heard as her voice blended back into the wind that wisped through the tree limbs that guarded his body.

There were soft horns. Were they trumpets? Were they trumpets when entering the gate? The horns became louder. Then they stopped. There were voices. Niles couldn't quite make them out, but there were voices. There was a dim, distant light that ran across him, then again and then a steady light. "There!" a voice called out. "Over there! Let's get a line down there! Get the board!"

Buckles. He suddenly heard buckles as if he had just been woken up. "He's alive! He's pinned, but he's alive!"

"What do you need? The jaws?" a more distant voice called.

"No, three more men down her and we should be able to lift this car off of him! At least enough to slide him out!"

"Remember your promise to me", the wind carried Daphne's voice again.

"I know."

"What?" the man next to him who was usually yelling back up the hill asked. "Buddy, did you say something? Can you speak? We're going to get you outta here, okay? You just hang tight and don't fall asleep on me." He yelled up the hill again, "He's going into shock! Get down here!" The sounds of buckles in the distance were becoming louder. Then the man wasn't yelling anymore. "He's lost a lot of blood. Hey buddy. My name is John. We're going to take care of you okay. I need you to work with me though okay. Can you feel this? Can you feel where I am touching you? Blink twice if you can feel this."

"Alright, let's get this hunk of tin off of him," another ordered.

The voices and the sounds faded.

"His pupils aren't responding," a voice said. Niles could tell he was moving through rough terrain as he was strapped to a board. This neck was stabilized in a neck brace. "Blood pressure low and a rapid heart rate."

"Medivac?"

"No, by the time it gets out here and they load him, we will be arriving. Let's load him up and truck him."

"I'll ride along", Niles recognized the voice to be the first man on the scene.

"Find his type and get a bag hung ASAP."

He was being passed along like a serving tray of hors d'oeuvres at one of his five star banquet parties. He was transferred to a gurney and slid into the back of an ambulance.

"Ready for an 'E-ticket' ride to the hospital?" John said. "Hold on." Within that split second, the sirens blared so loud and they took off like a shot. John placed an oxygen mask on him. "You're going to be okay pal," John shouted over the siren. "I didn't catch your name. What's your name?"

It was all a blur to Niles.


	7. Chapter 7

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Martin picked up the phone on the first ring. He had ahold of the receiver all night long. "Hello," he said with great eagerness.

"Marty, this is Frank."

"Frank, thank God. I've been talking to Bob all night long…"

"I know all about it. I would have called sooner, but I just got on duty and found out what was going on."

"Frank, is there anything you can do…"

"Marty, I've got some news. There was a report of a BMW rollover on the outskirts of town."

"Oh my God," Martin's voice dropped even lower. He noticed that Daphne had just walked into the room.

"We ran the plates. It is Niles' car. The driver was thrown from the vehicle and was rushed to the hospital."

Martin tried to keep his voice down and be discrete with Daphne in listening range. "Anything further?"

"Daphne's in the room, isn't she? All that I know is that he made it to the hospital." That was Frank's way of saying Niles was not a D.O.A. (Dead On Arrival). "He's at Virginia Mason."

"Thanks Frank. I'd better go."

"Hold on there. I'll come pick you up and drive you over. No one there is probably in any condition to drive."

"Right. Thanks Frank."

"You're at Niles' apartment right?"

"Right. We're at the Montana."

"I'll meet yous out front in ten minutes."

"Thanks Frank." He hung up and turned to find Daphne and Ronee eager to hear an update. "Brace yourselves."

Daphne hung onto Ronee for support.

"Niles has been in an accident."

Daphne started to bawl.

"He's at Virginia Mason Hospital and that's about all I know. Frank's going to drive us. He's going to meet us downstairs in ten minutes."

"I have to get David." Daphne started upstairs to David's room.

"I don't think that might be such a good idea Daph."

She stopped in her tracks. He turned to see Martins sobering look. "Oh my God." She ran into Martin's arms and broke right down. "Ronee will you…"

"Yes, I will take care of things here and watch David," she answered his question before he could get it out.

"And would you…"

"Yes, I will call Frasier."

He turned Daphne toward the front door. She went to push the elevator button as Ronee stopped Martin at the front door to give him a gentle kiss. "Call me when you find something out," Ronee told him.

Martin gave her a humble nod, turned and closed the door behind him.

Daphne lead the way into the hospital at a half-running pace. Martin couldn't keep up with her. Her eyes were swollen and her nose was red from all of the crying she had done. Martin and Frank caught up with her at the reception desk. She had waited for Martin to do the talking for fear of breaking down again.

"Excuse me miss, I'm Martin Crane. We're here to see a patient that just arrived: Niles Crane."

"One moment please." The nurse started to type into the computer.

Frank spoke up as he showed his badge, "He may be listed as a John Doe."

Daphne cringed at the thought of Niles being referred to as such.

Frank continued, "He's was in a motor vehicle accident and just arrived over a half hour ago."

The lady typed more into the computer. "There is a Doe that arrived without any identification."

Martin pulled out Niles' wallet and held it up.

She glanced back at the computer screen. "I'm showing that he is in the O.R. I'll note in the computer that you are waiting. Once one of his nurses or doctors is available, he or she will come to the waiting room to talk to you."

"Bloody hell, I've got to know if it's him or not!" Daphne said in a panic.

"Excuse me," a young man with sandy-blonde hair came walking down the hallway wearing an international orange jump-suit. "Are you inquiring about the John Doe that just arrived?"

"He's got a name!" Daphne snapped at him. "His name is Niles Crane! At least, if that's him in there!" She turned and started to walk toward the sofas in the waiting room.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You must be Daphne."

She turned to him in amazement. Her face flushed red and then it turned pale white. "How do you know my name?"

"I was the first EMT on the scene. Every time I asked the patient for his name, he kept telling me, 'I love Daphne'."


	8. Chapter 8

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Daphne sat in the waiting room talking with John for a while about what had happened on the site of the accident. John spared her any details that might alarm her. She thanked him and gave him a hug. As John started to walk away, Martin thanked him for answering a few of their questions. John smiled back, "For the short time I've known him, Niles seems pretty cool."

Martin grinned. "He is pretty cool."

"Oh, your son gave this to me in the ambulance," John reached in his pocket and retrieved a rectangular, flat rock to hand to Martin. "I guess he thought this was his cell phone. He said something about 'she might call'. I think his strength to get him this far came from that little lady over there."

Martin nodded. "Thanks again."

"Sure." With that, John headed back down the hall.

The minutes crept into hours. Martin used Niles' cell phone several times to talk to Ronee and Daphne spoke with her to see how David was doing. Once the sun had come up, Martin called Roz. He filled her in on the situation and asked if she would pick up Frasier from the airport. Time was inching forward. They glanced over at the nurse's station when a man in his cap and gown stepped up to talk to the nurse. The nurse pointed over to Martin and Daphne. "Daph," Martin said to get her attention, but her attention was already focused on the man in green already approaching them.

"Hello, are you here in relation to the man brought in from the BMW accident?"

"That's right." Martin showed the doctor Niles' driver's license. "I'm his father Martin Crane and this is his wife Daphne."

The doctor took the ID. "That's our man alright. Do you mind if I have the nurse Xerox this for our records since he didn't have any identification on him when he arrived?"

"Sure, that's fine." Martin and Daphne followed him over to the nurse's station while the nurse made the copy for the medical record. The nurse gave the ID back to the doctor and he handed it back to Martin. "My name is Doctor Sapperstein. Shall we go somewhere where we can talk?"

The doctor lead them down the hall to a conference room on the right. He closed the door behind them and had them take seats at the table there.

"You may or may not know that Niles was in a car accident and was ejected from the car."

Daphne reached for Martin's hand and held onto it for support.

"He was fortunate enough to land in a soft wooded area, but the car landed on his right leg breaking his tibia, also known as the shin bone. The tibia bears much of the body's weight and also plays an essential role in movement and locomotion. Luckily, it was a clean break and we were able to reset it. He will be in a wheel chair for a while. Like I said, he was lucky. The weight of the car could have shattered the leg bones. Although this injury is serious, it is not the one that I am worried about. He suffered a head trauma. He needed four stitches. The results from the CAT scan reveal a bruise on the frontal lobe of the brain. It doesn't look too severe, however, we won't know the extent of the damage until he regains consciousness."

Daphne's voice was broken as she fought for the words, "When can I see him doctor?"

"He's in post-op now. Once they move him into his room, he'll be completely out of it. I'll have you notified. You can go in to see him one at a time, but be prepared. He will be hooked up to a few machines."

"What do you mean by 'a few machines'?" Martin asked.

"He'll have tubing in his mouth and down his throat for assisted breathing as well as some monitors. Once he wakes up, he'll try to pull the tubing out on his own which will indicate that it's time to have the nurse come in and have it taken out."

"How long do you think it will be before we can see him?" asked Martin.

"Somewhere between thirty and forty minutes. He was lucky, the other passenger is still in critical condition."

Daphne's eyes widened. "The what?"


	9. Chapter 9

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Daphne stood outside of Niles' hospital room just staring at the door frame and listening to the heart monitor. One of the nurses was passing by and stopped. "Mrs. Crane, you can go in."

She took a deep breath and let it go. "I know. I just need a moment."

The nurse left her to gather her thoughts. "Be strong Daphne," she said to herself under her breath as she moved her hair out of her face and retrieved a tissue from her purse to wipe the tears from her eyes. She just wasn't prepared to see the love of her life in the condition he was in, yet her heart ached for him. She stepped into the room to find his bed was concealed by the curtain that surrounded it.

"Jump in Daphne," Aunt Bessy would say.

When Daphne was 12, they had gone to the lake and Daphne didn't know how to swim. Aunt Bessy knew best. "Just jump in. That's the way to do it."

But no, here came Simon and pushed her in without warning. She should have listened to Aunt Bessy when she had the chance.

"Just jump in Daphne," she told herself as she opened the hospital curtain and stepped inside.

Her heart sank as she saw Niles with a bandaged head, the breathing tube, and his casted leg hanging in a brace. She hurried to his side and gave him a half hug, so not to hurt him. She held his lifeless hand and kissed it. She leaned over to whisper to him. "Niles Crane, I love you. Can you hear me in there? I will never leave your side. I will always love you, so you'd best be getting' better so we can chase each other around." She hated to see him with the breathing tube stuck down his throat, but all the same, she tenderly kissed his cheek.

Pulling a chair next to his bed, she held his hand. She knew she was going to be there for a long time. Her tears hit the back of his hand that she caressed. "I love you so much Niles. I am so scared."

Martin was alone in the waiting room. He used Niles' cell phone. "Frank… Marty. Hey listen, the doc said there was a second passenger in Niles' car. He couldn't get into the details, but he later referred to the passenger and HER injuries. This whole thing stinks to high heaven."

"What do you mean?"

"Niles left his phone and wallet on his office floor, he left the coffee pot and lights on in his office, the office unlocked and he was thrown from the vehicle."

"Yeah."

"I know my son. He is particular about tidiness and wouldn't leave his office the way he did. And he always wears his seat belt."

"What are you saying Martin? It was in the middle of the night. Maybe he was too tired to think straight. Maybe something made him leave his office in a hurry."

"Yeah, this Becky girl did. She called him just before midnight. Do me a favor and find out who was in the car with him. If it was Becky, I want to find out why. I don't believe for a second that Niles would cheat on Daphne."

"Marty, I can't do anything on duty, but I sure can check it out after work. I'll do some research and see if I can question her co-workers, neighbors, and friends."

"Thanks Frank. I owe you one."

"I'll call you later tonight. We can meet for a drink if I have a debrief for you."

"And I'm buying," Martin added. He hung up and when he turned, he found Frasier coming in the door with bags still in hand. He was followed by Charlotte and Roz.

Frasier dropped his bags and hurried over to give his dad a hug. "How is he? Any news yet?" he asked as Charlotte gave Martin a hug followed by Roz.

"Ah, they got him all hooked up with all of these machines. I haven't been in to see him yet, but he is stabilized and has his own room now. Daph is in there now."

"Thank God he is stabilized." Frasier sighed. "Alright, everybody sit down. Dad, tell me everything and leave nothing out."

They sat in the waiting room and Martin told his son all about Niles current status. Frasier wiped away a tear as he listened. "Is there anything I can do… anything we can do?" he gestured to Charlotte and Roz. "Does Daphne need anything from the apartment?"

"Maybe you could go and bring David for a short visit. It would be nice for Daphne to visit with him for a short spell. You could bring Ronee over as well."

"Alright Dad, I'll do just that. Why don't you let me visit with Niles next and then we'll make that trip?"

"Alright, but give Daphne a bit longer with him."

"Sure Dad. I can only imagine the hell she's going through."

Martin motioned. "Frase, why don't we go down to the cafeteria to get some snacks for everyone. It'll give us a chance to talk."

"Well… okay Dad." He gave Charlotte a quick kiss. "Would you ladies like anything in particular?"

Both Roz and Charlotte shook their heads.

A little while later, Frasier was able to go see Niles. It really hurt to see his brother in such a condition. "Hello Niles," he said half choked up as he stood by the bed. "I won't take up too much of your time. Dad still wants a chance to see you." He took the chair that Daphne had moved next to the bed. "You know, if you wanted me to come visit so soon, you didn't have to do anything this elaborate." Frasier cleared his throat. "Sorry, that sounded funnier in my mind. Dad informs me that you overturned your car on the outskirts of the city. A lot of people here want some answers. Like why you were at that location in the middle of the night, why you left your office the way you did, and such. But even more than their need for those answers, they love you more than you may know and they are willing to wait for those answers. You take all the time that you need to get better." Again he tried to clear the lump in his throat. "You're my brother and I love you. You're actually more than a brother to me. You're my best friend. I will always be here for you." Frasier smirked. "If I break into a verse of You've Got A Friend, will you come to and join me?... please, Niles. Because if you ever thought of the world without you… well, let's just say that mine is a bleak planet…"

Frasier started to sing softly,

"If the sky above you should grow dark and full of clouds.

And if that north wind should begin to blow

Keep your head together

And call out my name out loud

Soon I'll be knocking at your door.

You just call out my name

And you know where ever I am

I'll come running to see you again

Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall

All you have to do is just call

And I'll be there

You've got a friend."

Frasier wiped a tear from his eye.


	10. Chapter 10

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

"I'm still getting used to Chicago, but I am with Charlotte now and that makes it all worth it. I'm also closer to Fredrick. Sure I miss Seattle like the dickens and I'll never have an apartment like I did at Elliot Bay Towers, but life is all about change," Frasier said as he stood next to the chair beside Niles' bed. "I sure miss Nervosa and my coffee time with you. When you get better, we must go back to our old haunt." He turned to face Niles as if he expected an answer. "Promise me that Niles." Then he whispered, "Promise me you'll get better little brother."

"Hey!" Martin limped into the room on a higher note, the way he does when he's trying to lift the mood of a heavy room. "What are you two talking about? Guy stuff?"

"Apparently, and excuse the phycology pun, 'our time is up'." Frasier gave his dad's arm a pat as he headed out to honor the one-visitor-at-a-time rule.

"What are you still doing in bed lazy bones?" Martin took a seat on the chair. "What are you going to do, sleep until noon?" He took the comic book that was tucked under his arm. "I'm sorry son, but the book store just down the street didn't have any Archie comics, so you'll have to settle for Batman." He took a moment to look at his son as the machine inflated his lungs time after time. "Here, I'll just tuck it here for later." He tucked it half way into the blanket by Niles' arm. "Maybe I should have held out and kept looking for an Archie. I'm sorry son." He sat there for a moment. Then he spoke with less pep in his voice. "I'm sorry son." He pulled the blanket up tighter on Niles, not that it needed it, but Martin needed to feel like he was there to look out after him. "It's times like these where a father realizes that he can do almost any job. One could be a cop or a mailman… but the one job he wishes he had perfected a lot more is the job of being a father. I wish I was there more for you kids. I love you Niles. But you already knew that, right? People assume that there family knows just how they feel and then regret it when they realize it's too…" He wiped the forming tears from his eyes. "It's not too late, is it Niles?" He leaned forward enough to where his chin was resting comfortably on Niles' arm. He smiled a little. "Hey, when you're up to it, why don't I teach you how to play catch? When you get better, I'll even let you drag me to an opera, anyone you'd like." When he lifted his head up, he took a hold of his son's hand. "When you get off this breathing machine, the doctor says that immediate family members can come in. All we have to do is convince them that Roz is your sister and we can all come in at once. After a few days of sleep, that might be enough to scare anyone. We're a scary ol' bunch." He sniffed to pull back the tears. "I sure wish Hester was here. Even though I married Ronee, I will never stop missing your mother. You know she's looking down on you right now. She's going to make sure we get through this." He leaned back in the chair. "Here, let's see what we have here?" He took up the comic book and opened it. "Oh, it looks like the Riddler is at it again." He started to read to him, "Gotham City had been diverged upon in many different ways throughout the years…"

Later that evening, long after the sun had gone down and after two different trips to and from the hospital to allow Ronee and David to spend a little time at the hospital with their loved ones, Martin was asleep in one chair of the waiting room, while Charlotte was asleep in another. Frasier and Roz were draped over other chairs with bloodshot eyes.

"We should convince Daphne to go home and get some sleep," Frasier suggested to Roz.

"You wanna try that, because I know that that ain't gonna work… not in this lifetime."

"I'm tired," Frasier lazily said. "I'm even too tired to correct your grammar."

The cell phone on Martin's chest rang, startling him half to death. He answered it.

"Marty, Frank. How is everyone holding out?"

"This day has stretched into a year."

"How's Niles?"

Martin held his hand up to Frasier and Roz to dismiss himself as he walked out of their hearing range. "He's still out of it. The doctors don't know when he may come out of it. They say, 'it could be a day, a week, a month…'."

"Well, I wish I had more news for ya, but it looks like the doc was right. Two people were brought in from the accident and one vehicle was towed. The second victim is still out of it. Her injuries include the neck. She could be paralyzed. And yes, her first name is Becky."

Martin swallowed hard. He was going to say something, but his throat became so dry at that very moment.

"Marty, I know it's not much to go by, but I'm going to earn that beer yet."

"Thanks Frank."

In Niles' room, Daphne tenderly held his hand as she laid her check on it, almost drifting to sleep. She had to feel the warmth of his hand. Visions of Niles driving clear across town in the middle of the night to be with another woman flashed in her mind. She sobbed heavily and uncontrollably. She stood in a sudden burst of rage. "How could you do this to me?" She started to scream, "How could you do this to your son? Was she worth it? Damn you Niles Crane for putting me through this! You didn't think about how this would affect your family, did you?"

Frasier came running into the room, soon followed by Martin. Frasier was holding her as she cried.

Martin took her in his arms. "It's been a hell of a day. Why don't we call it a night? Frasier, why don't you bring the car around?"


	11. Chapter 11

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Daphne apologized to everyone for her behavior at least half a dozen times during the car ride home that evening. Everyone knew the stress was getting to everyone and they had forgiven her the moment she had lost her control in Niles' hospital room. She didn't get much sleep that night. She cried so much that she was all dried up. She couldn't sleep. As a matter of fact, the few hours she did sleep was only after she splashed some of Niles' favorite cologne on her pillow. She held tightly onto it the entire time she was in bed.

By the time Seattle caught its first ray of sun that morning, Daphne was already up, showered, dressed and had made breakfast for everyone. She was ready to see the love of her life again. She nursed a cup of coffee while Frasier, Charlotte, Martin and Ronee at their breakfast.

"Listen," Frasier said as he stood up from the table. "I'm not very hungry right now. Daphne, why don't I drive you down to the hospital and come back for everybody else."

"Really?" She stood up and for the first time since he arrived, Frasier saw a small sparkle in her eye.

"Sure," he said reassuringly.

"Let me check on David, freshen up and I'll get me purse." She ran upstairs.

With a half-eaten piece of toast covered with blueberry jam in his hand, Martin leaned across the table and kept his voice low so Daphne wouldn't overhear him. "Frasier, do you think that is wise after last night?"

"Dad, you said yourself last night that that was a very stressful day. No one can blame her for going off on Niles like that. Now at this point, we can either keep her under our thumbs or we can show her that we still love and trust her."

"I hope you know what you're doing?" he snapped back.

"Of course I do. Trust me, I'm a doctor. Then again, in the words of the great Martin Crane, 'Shut your big bazoo'."

Martin dropped his toast down on his plate and gave Frasier a stern look.

Soon Daphne came bounding down stairs. "Ronee, do you mind watching after David again today? I have six bottles of milk in the refrige and you know where we keep the diapers."

Ronee gave her a warm smile. "Of course hon."

With that, Frasier took a big drink of his coffee and lead Daphne toward the door, picking up his keys on the end table by the door as they went. Once they arrived, Frasier walked her inside the hospital only to check on Niles' condition before giving Daphne a kiss on the cheek and back to The Montana he went.

When Daphne arrived at his room, she found two nurses there who had just checked on him and gave him clean bedding. He had an IV drip in his right arm. His condition was the same.

She held his hand. When the nurses left, she began to cry again. "Niles, I am so sorry for the way I acted last night. I love you. David misses you something fierce, I can tell. You are my whole world. I want you back. I want you home where you belong."

Niles' hand twitched inside hers.

"Oh my God, Niles! Can you hear me?"

His eyes half opened.

"I love you baby. I love you Niles!" She hadn't even realized that she was on her feet now.

He reached up and tried to take the assisted breathing tube out of his mouth.

"Hold on my love." She ran into the hallway. "Nurse! Nurse! He's waking up! He's trying to take the tube out!"

Two nurses came running up the hall and rushed into the room. "Mrs. Crane, we're going to have to ask you to go back to the waiting room while we get him set up in here."

She nodded as if they had their eyes on her. She back-stepped out of the room as they drew the curtain closed. Somehow Daphne understood. It could be dramatic for family members to see the breathing tube come out of their loved ones.

Daphne turned and hurried down the hall to the waiting room. She had to get to a phone and call her apartment. Her heart was beating so rapidly.

It wasn't long before Martin, Frasier and Charlotte were down at the hospital giving Daphne hugs. "I am so happy… so relieved," she told them.

Everyone was all smiles.

"He's going to be fine," Martin said with a mile wide grin.

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and then quickly checked her watch. "What's taking those nurses so long?"

"Come now," Frasier said. "Let's take seats in the waiting room at chat for a bit to kill the time."

Everyone went to the couches in the waiting room and sat. Martin looked eager when he asked Frasier, "So are you as popular in Chicago as you were in Seattle?"

Frasier's smile faded. "Within six months?" he asked sarcastically. "I've only been in Chicago for six months and you're comparing that to eleven years of Seattle? What's the matter Dad, couldn't you pick a gloomier topic?"

A nurse approached. "All immediate family can go well Dr. Crane now."

"Perfect timing," Martin said as they all stood up. Frasier held Charlotte's hand, inviting her to come into the room with them.

Everyone was so excited to see Niles. The hallway seemed to have gotten twice as long since the last time they walked it.

Daphne was the first to enter the room. She pulled the chair back to his bedside and held his hand. "It sure is good to see you."

"Hey, look who's up," Martin added.

"Hey, it's really good to see you guys," Niles said in a weak state.

"He's under meds." The nurse checked his monitors. "He'll need his rest, so please keep this visit short." She left the room.

"Sure thing ma'am," Frasier said with a smile. "How do you feel pal?"

"Don't toy with me Frasier."

Frasier lost his smile. "Excuse me?"

"Niles, how do you feel?" Martin asked.

"I've got cotton mouth. I could use some water." He turned to Daphne. "Miss, could you get me some water."

"What?" she replied in astonishment.

Martin leaned over to Niles to make himself perfectly clear. "Niles, why are you talking to Daphne like that?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know the nurses' names. Daphne, could you please get me some water."

Martin was careful that each word he spoke was perfectly clear. "Who do you think Daphne is?"

"I'm assuming that she's my nurse and it's Frasier's fault that this happened. He pushed me down the stairs."

Daphne's face turned as white as a ghost as she stepped back away from his bed. Frasier tried to catch her, but she slipped out of the room and ran down the hall. Her own husband doesn't even know who she is. Her heart sank and then broke into several pieces. This couldn't be happening. Charlotte chased after her.

"That's your wife son," Martin told him.

"Yeah, right," Niles replied.

Frasier spoke up. "Dad, wait. Don't push this." He then asked, "Niles, what were you wearing when I pushed you down the stairs?"

"Your opera cape, but that doesn't give you the right to push me."

Frasier turned to his father and whispered, "Dad, that happen when Niles was ten years old. The result of his head trauma has cost him most of his memory."


	12. Chapter 12

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Martin, Frasier, Charlotte, and Roz sat in the conference room in the hospital trying to console Daphne. The door opened and Doctor Sapperstein walked in with a Styrofoam cup of coffee. "Martin, Daphne." He shook their hands. "I haven't met the other's yet."

Frasier introduced himself, Charlotte and Roz.

"Pleasure to meet all of you." He sat at the edge of the table. "It's been a pretty rough morning; not all bad though. Niles is up and alert. The only problem is that he's not himself; at least not in age."

"I was thinking this could partially be a result of the medications and the early stages of reviving from the head trauma." Frasier added.

The doctor looked his way. "I considered that as well, but that's not the case. We wanted to call in a head trauma specialist, however the person best suited for the job is tied up with other cases at this time. Under his advisement, we are going to try a few things to recover Niles' memory. I am asking you to give us the rest of this day for testing and rehabilitation and possibly all of tomorrow. With a head injury like this, the closer we get to the event that put him here will be the hardest to recover. He may or may not ever recover that part of his memory. I need you to trust me that he's in good hands, to go home and relax… get some sleep, and support each other. He may advance in short time periods. This may take some time, but we will do a little 'time travel magic' here for you, okay?"

"Thank you doctor," Martin said as he shook his hand.

Frasier shook the doctor's hand and Daphne hugged him.

"We'll call you tomorrow with more information as to when you should return to see him."

"Thanks again," everyone said as the doctor left.

"You see, Daph," Martin said, "everything's going to be just fine."

"Is it?" she asked. "The only one who can shed light on this whole mess is my husband who thinks he's ten years old and doesn't even know I exist. And even the doctor said that he probably won't ever remember the night of the accident. Oh yeah, everything's going to be fine. It's just peachy," she said in sarcasm.

Frasier's voice was solemn, "Daphne, I know things look rough right now, but let's look on the bright side: we are getting Niles back, which is a small miracle in itself taking into account what he has been through."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I'm looking a gift horse in the mouth." She gave Frasier a hug. They headed out of the conference room to go back over to The Montana to keep Daphne company and her mind off of the clock.

The rest of the day was painful to not know of Niles' progress, but David kept his mother busy with his needs and playtime. The others cooked and cleaned for her and Frasier drew her a hot bath to soak in with lit candles throughout the room.

Even with all of her friends and family to help her through this, she still cried herself to sleep.

The next day was even longer. At any given moment, the phone could ring and their visiting privileges could be restored. Daphne kept busy playing with David all morning. At forty-seven minutes past noon, the phone rang. Everyone looked at each other with great hope. Frasier picked up the phone and handed it to Daphne. She spoke with them, mostly giving "yes" replies. When she got off the phone she looked scared.

"Daphne, what is it?" Frasier asked. "Are you okay?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Well what is it?" Roz said.

"They told me that Niles is asking to see me."

"Well that's great news, isn't it?"

"It sure is," she started to cry.

"Well then why are you crying?" asked Frasier.

"I'm just so happy." She sobbed.

"Oh," everyone accepted that answer.

"I'll get some drinks for everyone to celebrate," Daphne almost couldn't talk, she was crying so hard. "Roz, could you help me in the kitchen?"

Roz followed her. Once the kitchen door was closed, Roz started in, "Alright Daphne spill it. WHAT IS GOING ON?"

"They said…"

"Yes."

"They said…"

"What is it?"

"They said that he was asking for his wife."

"Okay that's good isn't it?"

"He may… recover his memory… in short… parts… what if… what if he was asking to see… his wife and… and is expecting Maris."

The look on Roz's face looked like she had just been doused with ice water. "Oh my God!" She covered her mouth with her hand for a second in disbelief. "Oh my God!" Then she pulled it away. "What are you going to do? Do you want me to go with you?"

"No. No, I have to face this problem on me own."

The phone rang again and Frasier answered it. "Hello… Oh, hello Frank. Yeah, Dad's right here." He held the phone out. "Dad, it's for you. It's Frank."

"Thanks son," Martin took the phone and stepped away from everybody as far as the phone cord would take him and spoke softly to keep his phone conversation personal. "Hey Frank, how are things?" He looked around to ensure no one was listening in.

"Marty, we need to talk."

"What is it?"

"Not over the phone. Where can I meet you?"

"You want to go for a drink?"

"No, let's just meet."

"Frank, you're scaring the hell out of me. Is this good news or bad news?"

"I don't know Marty. I guess you could say there's no good news no matter how you look at it."

"Where do you want to meet?"

"In the lobby of The Montana. One hour."


	13. Chapter 13

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Frasier drove Daphne to the hospital. They didn't speak on the way, but Frasier could sense the tension in the air. He knew that Daphne wasn't up for another moment of Niles not being the Niles she had fallen so madly in love with. He parked and walked inside with her. He stopped at the waiting room. Daphne stopped walking and turned to Frasier. "I'll be right here in the waiting room, if you need me," he said.

Daphne wiped the tears from her face. "I was hoping you were going to say something like that."

"I know this is tearing you apart, Daphne, but find some more patience in your heart, like I know you can. He has loved you for so long before you even knew it and you know he's worth the wait."

She nodded and gave him a hug. "Thank you Frasier."

He stood there in the hall next to the waiting room as he watched her walk down the corridor toward his room. The walk was much longer for her this time. The hallway was a mile longer and she didn't remember the lights being this dim before. It felt like her heart was up in her throat.

She stopped at his door. The only thing she could bring herself to do is to continue to try to swallow that lump in her throat, her heart, to get it back down where it should be. "Jump in Daphne," Aunt Bessy's words were ringing in her ears again. "Ah, put a sock in it, Aunt Bessy, you ol' crow," Daphne said out loud before she stepped into Niles' room.

She found him asleep in his bed. This time, he was propped up with his pillows in a half sitting/half laying position.

The tears silently streamed down her face with every step she made toward him. He looked so peaceful. Delicately/carefully, she sat on the edge of his bed. With a trembling hand, she reached out and touched his hand.

Ever so slowly, he opened his ocean blue eyes and tears started to form in them. One of them streamed down across his cheek so quickly, as if it had some place to be. He reached out his hand and caressed her soft cheek. She tilted her head; slightly leaning into his touch and a faint smile crossed her lips. For a moment, he just stared into her warm hazelnut eyes. Then gently with his fingertips, he ran then across her lower lip and then slowly back again.

He finally spoke with broken words. "Am I dreaming?"

She shook her head and whispered, "No."

He shook his head back at her. "You're wrong," he said almost underneath his breath, "You couldn't be more wrong. I'm always dreaming when I'm with you Daphne."

She let out a heavy sigh and kissed his hand as she started sobbing uncontrollably.

"Daphne, you have no idea how much you saved my life this time."

They drew to each other and their lips met. They held onto each other as if to prove that no force by man or nature would break them free from each other… not again… not ever. "I love you Daphne." She laughed. His words never sounded so good to her… so pure.

"I love you Doctor Crane."

"Hey," he said, "Who's backsliding now?" She had not called him that since before they had become a couple.

She laughed and brushed her lips with his again. She kissed his nose tenderly and then she gently laid her lips back on his. Niles' heart rate monitor started to pick up and ping from his elevated heart rate. His eyes widened from the alarm, but nothing was stopping them from prolonging that kiss.

He could feel her breath on his cheek and her soft hair upon his face. He thought for a moment that he had actually died and gone to heaven.

She pulled up for a moment. "I was SO SCARED that you were expecting to see Maris."

"I said 'dream' not 'nightmare'." He pulled her in for more of those kisses.

Martin paced back and forth in the lobby of The Montana. He tried to piece together what Frank was talking about on the phone, but he kept stopping himself. He was only driving himself crazy.

Finally there was a look of relief when he saw Frank enter the lobby. Martin hurried over to him. "Frank, what's going on?"

"Marty, you know I love your kids like day was my own."

"Just tell me what is going on."

"The medical reports were just filed from the accident. This Becky girl wasn't a passenger in Niles' car."

"What?"

"The report shows that she suffered neck injuries from the impact and a broken pelvis from the grill of the car."

Martin stared off into nothingness. "Oh my God." He turned back to Frank. "Niles has amnesia. He doesn't remember the accident."

"I hope he gets his memory back fast. I hate to tell you this Marty. We go back a long way."

"Why don't you just say what's on your mind."

"He's going to be facing charges soon and if the Becky girl dies, he looking at vehicular man slaughter. I'm sorry Marty."

"The doctor said that Niles may never remember the accident. Well… at least they weren't in the car together. At least we don't have to face that bullet."

"Don't get ahead of yourself Marty."

Marty thought for a moment and an uneasy look fell over him. "He still went out to meet her after she called, didn't he?"

Frank put a comforting hand on Martin's shoulder. "I know that doesn't help, but that looks like that part is the lesser of his problems. Maybe you should look into getting a lawyer for him."

Martin started to fumble with his hands. He shot Frank a quick look. "Thanks Frank."


	14. Chapter 14

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Niles woke up with the lady of his dreams curled up in the small free space of his hospital bed. As gentle as a leaf falling into a crystal clear stream, he placed his hand on the back of her head to caress her. He was so lucky to be loved by the one he loved so. He looked at his casted leg, wishing he hadn't had it to hinder the opportunities to stand with his beautiful wife holding hands or dance with her. He had dealt with many patients that survive major tragedies in their lives. There is a vicious pattern of promises these patients make to themselves on how to enjoy life more. Whether it is to do the things they've always wanted to do, miss doing, or the people they wanted to love more, the track record shows that most of these promises are cast aside then they become better. Niles would not cast this promise aside. This promise he just made to himself that there would not be an hour that went by that he would not let her know how much he loved her. She is, was and always will be his soul mate. He would always love her, but his promise was to always express that love. The opportunity to do so had almost slipped through his fingers in an event that he had no recollection of. The precious things in life can sometimes be snuffed out like a candle.

She lifted her head and opened her eyes to see him and she smiled. She crawled up and leaned over him for several minutes, just looking into his eyes. There were just a few inches away from their noses. She lingered there, counting her blessings twice, being so grateful for each and every passing second that she had to spend just staring into his blue eyes. Ever so slowly, she lowered her lips to his. He melted like a milk chocolate bar exposed on a hot summer sidewalk. "Have I told you how much I love you lately?" she asked.

"Yes, you have." He smiled. "And I love how your actions back your words up."

She smiled before kissing him again.

"I love you Daphne Moon and I think we should get married."

She sat up with wide eyes. "What?"

"I think we should get married right when I get out of the hospital."

"I… I…" she didn't know what to say.

Niles held up his hands defensively. "I'm just kidding. I know we're married."

She attacked him by tickling him.

He started to laugh and then called out in pain from his leg.

"I'm sorry Niles," she said sincerely.

"I'm okay. It's perfectly okay, my love. I had that one coming."

She smiled as she slowly moved in for another kiss. "I LOVE it when you call me 'my love'." Her lips touched his and sparks flew. It was truly amazing how their love has always remained strong.

"Hey, get a room you two," Martin suggested as he entered the room followed by Frasier.

Daphne sat up as Martin hugged Niles. "How do you feel son?"

"Under the circumstances, I feel like a million bucks."

Frasier gave him a hug. "It is so great seeing you two as one again."

Martin took a seat. "So you remember Daphne's your wife now?" He smiled excitedly.

Niles smirked at Daphne. "Yes Dad."

"And you know you have a son. You have a six month old son named David."

"Yes Dad, and when can I see David?"

"I'll bring him by today," Daphne said, "If that's okay."

"I don't think the staff will have a problem with it," Frasier said. "We'll run it by them on the way out."

"Hey where did all of those flowers come from," Niles referred to all of the bouquets about the room. "I hadn't noticed them before."

"Oh, from everyone," Frasier answered. "This one's from Roz, this one's from Dad and me, this one's from Charlotte and me, there are a few from your neighbors at The Montana…"

"Daphne, would you give us a moment to have a word with Niles?" Martin asked.

"No Dad. I've been through a lot. I need Daphne close." He smiled at her and she returned a playful smile. "Anything you want to talk about, you can talk about in front of her."

Frasier jumped in, "Niles, are you feeling up to talking about the accident? Because if you aren't, we don't need to talk about it. Only if you feel one hundred percent comfortable…"

"Frasier," Martin cut him off.

"Yeah Dad?"

"Shut your big bazoo." He gave Niles a nod. "I've been waiting to fire that one back at him." Then his face lost all expression. "Niles, what's the last thing you remember before waking up in the hospital?"

Niles thought for a moment. "I… I was in my office… I… I was working late. Then my cell phone rang. I picked it up from my inside coat pocket…"

Martin leaned forward. "And then."

"And then… I'm sorry. I don't know."

"It was a woman on the phone," Daphne tried to help by jump starting the conversation.

Frasier jumped in, "Daphne please. Niles needs to recall this on his own if we're going to get any accuracy to what took place."

Niles looked a little puzzled. "I'm not sure what you're looking for, but I assure you, I don't know what happened."

"Okay, so let's take you back to that night at your office," Martin said. "Your cell phone rings, you get it from your jacket…"

"Armani double breasted. Beautiful jacket," Niles added.

"Is that the gray one?" Frasier asked.

"You know, it is."

"Frasier!" Martin scolded. "A lady called. What was her name?"

"Ah…" Niles thought. "I… I'm not sure, Dad."

"It starts with a B… Beh…Beh…"

"Oh good God Dad, you make it sound like a sheep called Niles," Frasier snapped.

Niles gave Martin a strange look. Was this a word guessing game or was his father being serious?

"Becky," Daphne said, "He's trying to get you to say Becky."

Niles turned to Frasier for answers. "Frasier, what is this all about?"

"We're sorry to attack you like this when you're just recovering Niles, but you were in an accident involving someone else and there may be litigations involved, so the quicker you are able to recall the events of that evening, the better."

Niles looked over at Daphne with a puzzled look. "There was someone else in the accident? Are they alright?"

"She's in intensive care right now."

"I… I remember nothing."

"You were at work and someone named Becky called your cell just before midnight," Martin said. "That much we know."

Niles shook his head. "I can't recall."

Frasier motioned to his father. "This is not the way to go about this. Let's go Dad. Niles, we'll let you get your sleep."

"I'm sorry, I wish I could remember."

Martin stood and gave his son another hug. "You get your rest son."

As Martin and Frasier left the room, Daphne laid back down beside her husband on his hospital bed. Niles laid his head down, but had great concern for the other person who was in the accident.

Frasier and Martin stopped in the waiting room. "Perhaps when he is feeling better, I can help him with therapy to help him remember," Frasier commented.

Martin took Niles' cell out. "You work it on your end and I'll work from my end."

"What is that? Are you still using Niles' cell phone?"

"Shush," Martin had already dialed and was waiting for the reply. "Frank, Marty. I know this is a little unethical, but I'm going to need Becky's last name. I want to check on her status from time to time." He paused to listen. "Yeah, I know I could check on her status through you." He paused again. "Well, are you gonna give it to me or not? Thank you."

"Martin Crane, what are you up to?" Frasier said in a low tone.


	15. Chapter 15

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Niles sat in his wheel chair at the end of the hospital's hallway staring out of the window. He didn't have a view at all while sitting in his wheelchair. He was worried about Becky's well-being and he was filled with guilt about it. The bandage on his head was much smaller now; just two wraps around his head. He knew all too well how patients block accidents out of their conscious and sometimes never do recover that lost memories. He was ready to accept that. He looked down at his cast and smiled. When he had fallen asleep, Daphne had written something on it: "You truly are the love of my life ~ D."

"Well, look who's up and about." It was Daphne's voice.

Niles looked over to see Daphne holding David. She was wearing a Royal Blue Maxi Dress. It was a sleeveless dress with a cut off center high in the front and low in the back, revealing her beautiful left leg. She wore a thin leather black belt which accentuated her incredible frame. He was completely taken in by her beauty. "Daphne… you look stunning."

"David wanted to stop by, so I just threw something on." She smiled at him.

"David," Niles turned his wheel chair around and held his arms out.

Daphne walked over to him, placing David in his arms and stealing a sensuous kiss from her husband in the process. "The doctor said you can come home today."

"Yes, I am so glad to be able to go home, you have no idea." He gave David a kiss. He looked back at her and couldn't take his eyes off of her. "You do look incredible. Let me just look at you. Let my heart catch up to my eyes."

She spun around once to let him drink the view in.

He took in a deep, deep breath and slowly let it out in a heavy sigh that make Daphne laugh. He swallowed. "Daphne, I am so sorry I put you through this."

She squatted down by his chair. "I'm just so thankful that you're okay. I love you."

He stroked her cheek with the back of his knuckles. "I love you too."

"How are you doing with all of this?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. Dad gave me Becky's last name. I know her. She's a patient of mine."

"So that explains everything. She called you for help and you probably went to go help her that night."

He started to tear up. "I don't know. But she was a patient of mine and I almost killed her."

Daphne stood and leaned over to kiss his forehead. "Everything's going to be alright."

"Is it?" he asked. "If the city, Becky or her family press charges, I can't diverge any information. It's doctor/patience confidentiality. So even if I could remember that night, it wouldn't help me."

"Was Frasier able to help you?" She brushed his hair across his forehead back how he normally wears it.

"We've tried a few things. He even hypnotized me, but the only 'break through' we had was 'a can of cat food'. So, no. That went nowhere… unless I was avoiding a can of cat food in the road which caused me to swerve off the road."

She hugged him. "Give it time Niles." Hugging him while wearing that dress was a lethal combination. He took a deep breath of her perfume and started to get light headed; intoxicated with everything about her.

He reached up and gently pulled her in for a kiss. "Let's go home and bust this cast off," he suggested.

"Ease up there tiger. You need to walk before you can run."

"My plans had nothing to do with walking or running."

She smiled at him. "I know." She stood up. "Frasier and Martin insist on getting you the best lawyer in Seattle."

"Oh… you mean…"

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean."

"The Piranha."

"Yes, Donny Douglas. That is, unless you have a problem with it."

He shook his head. "No, I don't have a problem with it. Do you? You almost married the guy."

"I'm fine and don't remind me. Not that I could forget breaking his heart at the ceremony. Frasier will make the call. I told Frasier to have him come over to the apartment tomorrow night. That way your first night home won't be under interrogation."

"That's fine. Just don't wear that dress tomorrow night. No sense in torturing the man."

Daphne gave him a playful slap on the arm.


	16. Chapter 16

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Daphne wheeled Niles in his wheelchair into their apartment with David in Niles' arms. "Oh Daphne… Home, sweet, sweet home." The place was lined with the bouquets of flowers that friends and family had sent to the hospital for him.

"The flowers smell wonderful, don't they?" She said as she stopped his wheelchair by the fainting couch.

"Yes they do."

"Here." She took David. "Let me put him down for his nap." She carried him away.

The doorbell rang. "Oh, who could that be now." Niles called to Daphne, "I'll get it!" He went to move his wheelchair, but then realized that Daphne had put the brakes on. "Daphne dear, you've got me locked into place here."

She came hurrying downstairs. "Sorry Niles. I'll get it." She opened the door to find not one, but two flower delivery men out in the hall with more flowers. "Oh, good heavens! Not more flowers." She signed for them as they brought in six vases with two dozen roses in each. "Just how many friends do you have Niles?"

The delivery men left and Daphne closed the door about the time Niles was able to unlock his wheelchair. He turned himself to face her. "They're not my friends. I ordered these flowers for you."

She lit up. "For me?"

"I know I've put you through a lot and almost losing the chance to be with you. I want to show you just how much I love you, but it's going to take about the next 60 years."

"You are an adorable man." She went over and hugged and brushed her lips softly to his and caressed his lips with hers. "I love you too Niles."

"Oh my," Niles thought. "If I were one of these flowers, I'd be wilting right now."

Daphne helped him from the wheelchair to the fainting couch. Then she pulled his wheelchair around to the side of the couch, out of the way, but in his reach if he needed it.

"Daphne… there's something I want to talk to you about," he said in a serious tone.

"We've got plenty of time for talking later. Right now, you need to rest." She placed a bed pillow under his head and a couch pillow under his cast. "Are we comfy?"

"Oh yes."

She leaned over him and brought her lips to his, more that welcoming, lips. He must have been exhausted because that kiss was the last thing he remembered before waking up.

When he woke, there was a table set up with white table cloth right in front of the fainting couch. There were candles set out and lit and plates with silver covers. Niles recognized the smell. "Daphne, is this Coulibiac of Salmon? It's my favorite!"

"Why yes, it is." She came out of the kitchen wearing that Royal Blue Maxi dress with the left leg showing. Stunning! She was carrying a bottle of chilled white wine and a bottle opener.

Niles couldn't take his eyes off of her. "WOW, dessert."

"This isn't a dessert wine," Daphne replied.

Niles gave her a cheesy smile. "I know."

She handed him the wine and the bottle opener, then she lifted the plate covers.

Niles opened the wine. "Daphne, this dinner looks delicious. How did you manage this?"

"I got a little help from a few of me friends from down the hall. Kristen and Andrea picked it up from Guy Savoy."

"I just want you to know…"

"Yes Niles?" She took the seat across from him.

"I approve of your friends and they are welcome over at any time."

His response made her smile.

They shared a wonderful meal and delightful conversation. Daphne started to clear the table. "I'll start dessert."

"Oh, is it a secret?"

"No, it's my Moon Brownie Lava dessert."

Niles wasn't in the mood for Moon Brownie Lava: a brownie set in hot chocolate pudding, but then again, he didn't want to disappoint her. "Sounds yummy," he sounded enthusiastic.

She disappeared into the kitchen.

"Daphne, I still think we need to discuss something. I didn't want to bring it up during dinner," he called to her in the kitchen.

"What's that dear?"

"I didn't want to talk through a door." He pulled his wheelchair around and managed to get into it. He wheeled himself over to the kitchen, but he couldn't manage to open the door and get his chair through it at the same time. He stood up and hobbled himself into the kitchen on his good leg.

"What are you doing?" Daphne scolded him.

"I think we should talk," he insisted.

"Not until you get back to the couch."

"No, I have to address this. I'm sensing some suppressed feelings here and I think you need to let them out."

"Niles, stop being a psychologist and be my husband."

"I dropped my cell phone in my office before I left that night, I'm sure I would have called you to let you know where I was, but I didn't have my phone."

"I know Niles."

"I don't recall what happened that night…"

"Niles, we don't need to talk about this."

"My actions almost cost me my life. I almost left you and David."

"Niles," she started to get tempered. "I don't want to talk about this!"

"Don't deny your feelings on this," he insisted.

"You psychologists always have to talk through everything!" She stepped across the room and slapped him hard across the face and at that very instant, she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him toward her to kiss him hard on the mouth.

She pulled away and wiped the tears from her face.

Okay, Niles wasn't expecting that.

"I want you out Niles."

"Wh- what?" He held the side of his face that she slapped.

"I want you to go. I want you out of here."

His heart sank to a spot he didn't even know existed. "Daphne… I"

"Go Niles." She wiped more tears from her eyes.

"I… I'm sorry Daphne… I'll call Dad for a ride."

"Niles. I meant out of the kitchen. Go back to the couch. I'll bring your dessert to you."

Niles took a breath in and let it out just as fast. "Oh!" He hesitated. "I love you."

"I love you too, just go."

As he left the kitchen and eased himself back into his wheelchair, he was so grateful that that wasn't as bad as it appeared. Yet, did he push it too far or was it truly something Daphne had to deal with. When he got himself back on the couch, he hadn't realized just how exhausted that had made him. He felt as if he was on a small raft drifting to the center of a calm lake. How mad had he made his English goddess? Even though this thought disturbed him so, he couldn't fight climbing into the arms of Morpheus: the Greek God of Sleep.

Niles opened his eyes in the middle of the night. He found himself in the darkness with a heavy weight of guilt in his heart. Then something happened. The greatest thing that could possibly happen, happened like it was a true gift from the heavens. The scent of cherry bark and almonds was in the air. Then he felt her head resting on his chest. Daphne was sleeping on the couch with him. True love will find a way. She was damned if she was going to sleep without him again. His heart filled with warmth as if he was drinking a great vintage of brandy on a cold winter night. Some things in life you may never find the answers to. He didn't know if he would ever remember the evening that was lost in his memory, but he did know that he was so deeply in love with the right person and every second with her was like being touched by the warmth of heaven. And he held her for the rest of the night.


	17. Chapter 17

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Frasier pushed Niles in his wheelchair up to his office with Martin trailing behind. Frasier unlocked the door and they entered the waiting room.

"Frasier, this is ridiculous." Niles said.

"Now Niles, Donny is coming over this evening. He's a divorce attorney and has agreed to take your criminal case. So we've agreed to give this one more try." He wheeled him up to the coffee table in the waiting room. He then took the gym bag that was strapped across his chest and over one shoulder.

"Frasier?" Martin questioned, "You have a gym bag?"

He shot his father a defensive look. "Yes, I have gym-ed before." Turning back to Niles, "Now you wait here while I recreate your office the way it was of the night in question." He took Niles' double-breasted jacket from the gym bag and headed for the office, tucking Niles' cell phone in its pocket as he went.

Niles shot his father a look.

"Just appease him, it works for me." Martin shrugged.

Back to the gym bag, Frasier took some cans out and started stacking them on the coffee table in front of Niles. "Now Niles, in our therapy sessions, you mentioned a can of cat food. So I thought this might jog your memory. I have Friskies, Fancy Feast and 9 Lives."

Niles held his hands up. "Let's just stop with the cat food, shall we?"

"Alright Niles, alright. Let's continue with the simulation shall we? Now you were in this room when your cell phone rang."

"That's correct," Niles stated.

"This is ridiculous," Martin commented.

"Now now Dad," Frasier said. "It's a proven fact that sights, sounds and smell can allow the mind to recall things that it wouldn't otherwise." He pulled out his cell and speed-dialed Niles' cell.

It began ringing and Frasier gestured for Niles to go answer it. Martin started to say something, but Frasier aggressively put his finger up to his own mouth to insist that his father remain completely quiet during the recreation.

Niles hesitated from doing this silly recreation before wheeling himself into his office. There was his jacket on the coat rack, just as it was before. He reached for the jacket pocket, but just couldn't reach it from his chair. Frasier and Martin scooted past him and into the office almost as if they were ghosts that Niles couldn't see.

Niles continued to struggle. Frasier tilted the coat rack closer to Niles. Helping him too much could take away from the recreation.

Niles still couldn't reach it. Frasier tilted it more.

Niles stretched, but still couldn't reach it. "Oh for heaven's sake Frasier, I wasn't in this wheelchair on that night."

Frasier got that "don't rain on my party" look on his face as he leaned it all the way down for Niles to reach his phone.

When Niles touched his cell phone, he stared at it for a moment in the palm of his hand and said nothing. "Oh my God Frasier, I just remembered something!"

Frasier ended the call and put his phone way. "YES! YES! YES NILES" He turned to Martin, "AND YOU THOUGHT THIS WAS STUPID!"

Martin rolled his eyes.

Frasier took Niles wallet out of the gym bad and threw it to the rug where Martin found it, but he did it like a victory piking of a football. "GO WITH IT NILES! GO WITH IT! WHAT DO YOU RECALL! SING IT FROM THE GALLOS!"

Niles looked at him with eagerness. "I remember that I left the coffee pot on!" He wheeled his chair out of the office and swung it around and went over to see if his precious coffee maker had been damaged.

Martin laughed, but tried to hold back.

"Oh sure, mock me," he told Martin. "The Doctor is not done yet," he announced, "I have more tricks in this gym bag."

Niles wheeled himself back into the office. "I'm sorry Frasier. I appreciate what you are trying to do here, but perhaps we should just terminate this and go home."

"Come now Niles, we're already here and we're here to help you." Frasier walked over to Niles' desk. Now what about this book that is open on your desk or your yellow legal pad?"

"Don't Frasier," his voice was stern. "Don't touch my legal pad."

"Alright Niles. Let's go to 'The Gym Bag' again. Now through our sessions you also mentioned that you remember in the accident that you smelt something sweet."

Niles thought. "Yes, I believe I did, but I can't recall the smell."

Frasier set the gym bag on the desk and pulled out… "Could it have been a box… chocolates!" He pulled it out and had it open for Niles to smell."

Niles looked up at him with just the movement of his eyes. "No, it couldn't be chocolate. I never have sweets in my BMW, you know that."

"Alright, what about car air fresheners!" He held out three different types for him to smell.

Niles shot his father a look. Martin nodded to him – the non-verbal, "go ahead son, this is almost over and you know how your brother will get if you don't let him finish with this".

He smelt them one at a time. "No, sorry. Nothing."

Frasier put them back in his gym bag. "Alright, then what about roses!" Frasier pulled out a handful of rose pedals and tossed them at Niles.

Niles stared at him with irritation as he took them off of his shoulders and lap one by one. "I think we're done now."

"Wait Niles, we have one more." He took out a jug of blue liquid. "Anti-Frozen"

"What's that?"

"Antifreeze," Martin said. "This one is my idea. It's a coolant that goes into the radiator of your car."

"Oh," Niles nodded as if he understood exactly where the radiator was in his car.

"Let's go to the sink by your coffee maker," Frasier said excitedly as he handed Niles the container and he wheeled his brother out of the office.

Martin looked up towards the heavens. "Hey Hester, they're your kids too." He could hear his kids from the waiting room.

"This is it! Hey Dad, this is it! This is what I was smelling at the scene of the accident!" Then there was a thud followed by a thick splash and Niles' cry, "Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

"What's wrong? What happened?" Martin hurried into the other room.

"Frasier dropped the Anti-Frost and it splashed all over my hands! It's going to eat my hands off!"

Martin smiled. "Calm down Niles. It's only Anti-Freeze. It's not acid. It's only harmful if swallowed. Just wash your hands off." Martin looked back up to the heavens. "Do you see what I mean?" He went back into the office to wait for the boys.

Niles wheeled himself back into the office with Frasier right behind.

"Did you remember anything?" Martin asked.

"I did," Niles said. "I remembered not to trust my brother to hold any type of liquid container close to me for any given time."

Frasier shot him a quick look with a silent sigh.

"I'm done here Frasier. I appreciate what you're trying to do. I really do, but I am completely done."

Frasier took a few steps toward his desk. "Niles what about this legal pad and this book? Are these session notes from Becky?"

"Frasier, you don't understand. I'm done with it all. I'm not going to be a psychologist anymore. I don't want it."

Frasier and Martin stood there for several moments with their mouths open. "Son, what are you thinking?"

"This job has caused a lot of stress on Daphne as well as myself and a short week ago almost cost me my life. I just don't want it anymore."

"Niles," Frasier pleaded. "Psychology is your life. I beg you, think this through."

"I've made up my mind. I'm going home to Daphne and will put my fate in the hands of Donny."

With that, he wheeled himself out of the room, leaving Frasier and Martin looking at each other with blank looks on their faces.


	18. Chapter 18

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

There was a knock at Niles' and Daphne's residence at The Montana. Charlotte answered the door. Donny Douglas stood there with a confused look on his face. He looked back at the elevator wondering if he had gotten off on the wrong floor.

"Excuse me," he said, "I'm Donny Douglas. Is… Is this the home of Dr. Niles Crane?"

"Why yes it is?" She reached out her hand to shake his. "I'm Charlotte Connor. I'm Frasier's girlfriend. We're visiting from Chicago."

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Please come in."

When Donny entered the apartment, everyone was there: Roz, Daphne, Niles, Frasier, Martin and Ronee. They all stood up to greet him, with the exception of… "Niles, don't get up," Donny quickly walked over to Niles' wheelchair to shake his hand as everyone laughed at his comment. He stopped in his place when he laid eyes on Daphne. "Hello Daphne," he said almost too formally.

"Donny." She hurried over to give him a hug. "It's good to see you."

"And you too. Gosh, you guys all look great. Oh, I haven't met you yet." He extended his arm to Ronee.

"Sorry Donny," Martin spoke up. "This is my wife: Ronee."

"Great to meet you," she smiled.

"The pleasure is all mine." He turned to Martin. "And Marty!" He gave Martin a hug. "It really is great to see you all." He turned to Frasier who offered his hand. "I'm done with the handshakes," Donny said and gave Frasier a bear hug that Frasier didn't know what to do with.

"Oh… thank you," were the first awkward words out of Frasier's mouth.

"Can I get you something to drink Donny?" Daphne asked.

"I usually don't drink while I'm interviewing a client, but in this case, a scotch on the rocks wouldn't hurt, would it?" He licked his lips subconsciously.

"No," almost everyone answered him all at once.

While Daphne went to get him a drink, Niles offered, "Donny, come have a seat."

"Sure." He went over and sat on the fainting couch next to Niles in his wheelchair.

"Donny, thank you for taking my case," Niles said. "I know you normally don't take criminal cases."

"Well when Frasier told me it was for you, I couldn't refuse. And don't worry, I've got the criminal law shark Everett & Associates as a consultant and Everett is loaning me two of his paralegal minions to help with the case. You are in good hands, my friend."

Daphne brought Donny his drink. "Thanks Daphne," he stood up to get the drink in respect to her. "Now Frasier filled me in on most of the details, but before we dive into that pool of litigation, how are you guys? What have you been up to? Look at this, Marty is married now. And what a catch Marty."

Ronee smiled. "A silver tongued lawyer," she said. "How cliché."

"We have a six month old son. He is our pride and joy," Niles said.

"Let me go see if he's done with his nap," Daphne said and off she went.

"Oh Daphne, you don't have to bother him on my account," Donny said, but she was already up the stairs.

"How long has it been?" Niles asked.

"Since we last saw each other?" Donny asked, "Two and a half years, hasn't it?"

"Yes, I believe that is correct."

Daphne returned with David.

"Oh my gosh." Donny stood up. "He is a handsome little man isn't he?"

"Would you like to hold him?"

"May I?"

Daphne put David in his arms. He looked into David's big blue eyes. "Hey buddy. I knew you were this beautiful."

"What do you mean by that?" Daphne asked.

"Oh, Bridgett and I saw the three of you walking down third street about two months ago. David was in a stroller and we couldn't get a good look at him."

"Why didn't you stop us and talk to us?"

"I don't know. You and Niles are so happy together. We just didn't want you to feel uncomfortable. I didn't want to tempt fate."

"What do you mean by that, Donny?"

"You and Niles. You can tell just by looking at you that it was in your destiny to be together."

Daphne smiled. "You're so sweet. Thank you."

Niles spoke up, "So you're still with Bridgett? We met her two and a half years ago, didn't we?"

"Yes," Donny handed David back to Daphne. He pulled out his wallet and flipped to a picture to show Niles. Daphne moved over to sneak a peek.

It was Donny and Bridgett's wedding picture. The wedding cake was in the shot and Niles notice the top of the cake was the bride being carried by the groom. "Can't blame him for wanting a one piece wedding cake topper," Niles thought. "The cake topper from Donny's and Daphne's wedding cake had two pieces. The groom Donny used to carry around to remind himself what a 'chump' he was after Daphne dumped him. He even had a name for his little plastic friend: 'Mr. Chump'."

Niles commented, "That's a nice picture."

Donny turned it to face him for a look himself. "Yeah, we've been married for a month now."

Daphne thought that was strange since Donny said that after his breakup with Daphne, he didn't believe in long engagements anymore and he was engaged to Bridgette two and a half years ago. Then again, Donny did make a scene in front of her saying that after being dumped by the love of your life, 'Good luck finding Ms. Right, 'cause she just ain't out there'.

Donny shot his eyebrows up for a second, subconsciously licked his lips and tucked his wallet away. "Alright Niles. Tell me all about this accident? How did it happen? I know you've had a head injury, but what do you recall?"

"Nothing. I was working late. My cell phone rang. That's the last thing I remember other than waking up in the hospital."

"That… that's not much to go on."

"I redialed that incoming call and it turned out to be from a Becky," Daphne added.

"This is the woman in intensive care?" He pulled out a pen from his pocket and a blank folded piece of paper to write on.

"Yes, Professor Rebecca Williams. She is a patient of mine so I can't diverge anything I know prior to the accident," Niles chimed in.

Donny jotted the name down before turning to Niles in disbelief. "Really?"

"That's right," Niles said.

"Is this some type of joke?" He looked around the room checking the faces to see if anyone was holding back any laughter. "Are you serious? This is all you have for me?"

"It was a rollover accident just on the outskirts of town," Martin added. "We found Niles' cell phone and wallet on his office floor with the coffee pot and lights on and the front door to his office unlocked."

"So whatever this Williams woman said, it made you leave in a hurry."

Niles said, "That must be right."

"So you hit her car or her car hit yours?"

"According to the medical reports, he hit her with the car," Martin answered.

"Why was she out there on foot on the outskirts of town?"

Niles and Frasier looked at each other. Then Niles and Martin did the same. "That's a good question," Niles said.

"Alright," Donny stood. "I have enough to start working on. Niles, I'll call for a fax number. I will fax you consent forms to allow me to access your medical report as well as the police report. I'll be able to get her medical and police reports from the prosecutor. I am assuming, due to the victim's status, that it is the city prosecutor or is the family trying to sue?"

"The city," Frasier got his two cents worth in.

Donny shook Niles' hand. "I'm on this Niles. Don't worry. We'll have this wrapped up within the year."

Niles' eyes widened.

"Just kidding Niles." He held up his hands. "I'll call you within 24 hours. Keep your cell phone charged and within arm's reach."

"Thank you Donny. Thank you so much." Niles said.

Daphne walked Donny to the door and gave him a bid hug. "Thank you Donny. And it was so great seeing you again. Once this is all over, you must bring Bridgett by for a visit."

Donny returned her smile. "Good-bye Daphne."


	19. Chapter 19

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Daphne closed the door when Donny left. Frasier walked over to Niles. "Niles, can I see you in the kitchen?"

"Actually, I'm a little tired. I…"

"Thank you Niles," Frasier cut him off as he pushed his wheelchair across the floor and into the kitchen. Frasier had is briefcase in hand. "Niles, I took your yellow legal pad." He put his briefcase up on the counter and touched it. "Just what are you trying to afraid to find in these notes?"

Niles wheeled himself back out of the kitchen. "Frasier, you have no right to extract my notes from a private session from my office."

"I didn't read them, but what are you avoiding?"

Niles and Frasier looked around the room. They had everyone's attention.

"How about some ice cream?" Martin announced. "I'm buying."

"Oh that sounds good," Ronee said as she grabbed her coat.

"I love ice cream," Roz headed to the door with her purse.

"Oh yes, delightful," Charlotte followed suit.

"Let me grab David," Daphne as well as everyone else was out the door in a matter of seconds, leaving Niles and Frasier to talk.

Frasier scratched his forehead. "I guess we cleared the room."

"Frasier, I don't want to do this."

"I know Niles, but if you were to confide in me as an advising psychologist…" A technique they used to get around legalities in the past.

"I'm not a psychologist anymore."

"Niles, if this might keep you out of jail, do it for Daphne and David."

Niles shook his head. "Alright Frasier, alright. Well played. If you want to know what's in those notes, than okay. Professor Rebecca Williams works at the University of Washington. She's been my patient for about six months. Just about the time David was born. She was seeking therapy because she fell in love and started an intimate relationship with a married man. She was in love, but he wasn't going to leave his wife. She became obsessed. She told me that she became pregnant."

Frasier gasped beneath his breath. "Oh my God Niles, you're not saying…"

"No. I know what you are thinking. No, I did not strike down a pregnant woman with my car. The more she became obsessed with the failed relationship, the more she became unstable. After several months of not showing in her pregnancy, I tried to give her a push to allow her to realize herself that she was suffering from pseudocyesis. Rebecca was making great progress. A few days before the accident, she had begun splitting her personality into Professor Rebecca Williams the independent professional and Becky Williams the depressed and unloved expected mother. Becky was making independent appointments while Rebecca was not showing up for her sessions."

"I'm sorry Niles. No matter how hard we try… no matter how great we are… eventually, we find a patient that we can't help."

"Well, this is my first that I can't help and it almost cost both of our lives. I can't go back to that profession. I'm done with it."

"I'm sorry Niles. I'm sorry terribly sorry." He put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Thank you Frasier," he put his hand on his brother's. "It feels like this took all of my energy from my very soul."

"But what will you do now?"

"I don't know. Perhaps I will go back to school and choose another field. I just wish I could recall that phone conversation and realize what she wanted me to do."

"I coin the phrase: Lord, grant me the strength to accept the things that I cannot change that, and the courage to change the things that I can."

It wasn't too long after that that Donny called for Niles' fax number and the consent forms came through. Niles signed them and sent them back. The others returned from getting ice cream. The ladies brought Niles and Frasier cones back. It was partially melted, but the men were very appreciative. Everybody stayed up late hoping Donny would call back with more news and he did. Daphne answered the phone. "Niles, it's for you. It's Donny."

Niles wheeled over and took the phone. "Hello Donny."

"Hey pal, how's everything on the home front?"

"You could say it's always calmest before the dawn."

"Well Niles, I wish I had better news for you, but I didn't want to leave you in the dark. The city prosecutor has thrown some major barriers up against us, but I'm going to bust us through them. I'll come by tomorrow and give you an update."

"Thanks Donny. We'll see you tomorrow." Niles hung up the phone slowly.

Everybody was silent, waiting for some news.

"Donny didn't have any good news, but he's still working on it. He sounded confident. He'll be by tomorrow."

Frasier bounded to his feet. "Well, let's have a drink."

"No thanks," Martin said. "I'm going to bed."

"Right behind you lover," Ronee said.

Niles' cell phone rang. He answered it. "Dad, it's for you. It's Frank."

Martin took the phone and went into the kitchen. "Frank what's up?"

"Marty, we've got to meet now."

"Now?"

"Right now. Right this very minute."

"In the lobby?"

"Not in the lobby. We've got to meet now. I'm on my way up. I should be there in a few…" There was Frank's knock on the door.

Martin hurried out of the kitchen and to the door to answer it. There Frank stood.

"Marty, because of our friendship, I don't have access to the case files, but I do have some bad news." He hung his head.

Martin swallowed hard and braced himself. "Okay Frank."

"THESE BEERS ARE WARM SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO WAIT 'TIL THEY GET COLD!" Frank pulled a six pack of bottles of beer from behind his back.

"What's going on?" Marty asked in confusion.

Everyone gathered around to see what the commotion was.

Frank took a few steps into the apartment and announced, "Becky's awake and she has feeling in all of her arms and feet."

Everyone cheered. Daphne hugged Niles so hard, she almost pulled him out of his chair.


	20. Chapter 20

_For The Love of Daphne by Patrick Councilor_

Donny was knocking on the door at the first light of day. Everyone was scrambling to get breakfast when he arrived. When Daphne answered the door, Donny walked right in, straight to Niles and kissed him on each cheek.

"Well, good morning to you too," Niles said.

"All charges have been dropped," Donny said with a smile.

Everyone cheered Donny.

"Why?" Niles asked. "Not that I want to pry, but what happened?"

"The prosecutor was pressing for mandatory man slaughter. But litigation is like playing chess. I produced a copy of your cell phone records showing an inbound call on that night just before midnight from a Professor Rebecca Williams. They flipped their charges to attempted murder with the assumption that you then knew Miss William's location. Playing on a hunch, I had the area searched and Ms. Williams vehicle was parked over six miles away. So why would she be walking on the road on the way to her house and your office six miles from her vehicle? I walked a court order through and was granted a warrant to have Ms. Williams house searched. Bingo! We found a suicide note ending with the explanation that Doctor Niles Crane had no knowledge or intention of aiding in this suicide."

Niles looked like he had just swallowed an apple whole.

"I'm sorry Niles." Donny continued. "You were set up to help her end her life. The phone call must have been dramatic. That's why you left your office so quickly, dropping your wallet and cell phone without noticing. She knew the route you would take and probably called you even after she started walking down the road waiting for your car to come racing down the road."

Niles couldn't believe that he was used as a pawn in an ugly game of Arsenic and Old Lace. Her depression was relevant, but she hadn't displayed any signs of suicidal tendencies. Niles was beside himself.

"The only charge you are now facing is a $65 fee for driving without possession of your driver's license," Donny added.

Daphne hugged Niles. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, yes… I mean, I will be. I just need some air. Will you all excuse me?"

"I'll go with you," Daphne said.

"No, you stay here. There's some celebrating to do. Mind the guests. I'll be back."

She cupped his jaw with both of her hands and gently turned his face to tenderly whisper a kiss on his lips. He smiled back and then wheeled himself out the front door.

That was hours ago and no one knew where he was. Frasier tried his cell a dozen times, but he wasn't answering. Frasier took a drive to go find him. He drove out to Niles' office. There he found Niles boxing up his office in the dark. Frasier turned the light on. "How did you get here?"

"I took a cab," he said as he continued to pack without looking Frasier's way.

"You're still walking away from your profession?"

"I should have been there for that woman. I could have helped her. I couldn't foresee the signs enough to stop her from attempting suicide. Worst of all, I became the murder weapon."

"You were on your way to help her Niles."

"Sometimes it's not enough to pave a road with good intentions."

"Then why did you go Niles? Why did you rush out of here so quickly leaving your phone and wallet behind?"

"I've dedicated my life to helping people, not helping people end their lives."

Fraser lifted a frame from one of the boxes that he had packed. It was Niles' diploma. "That's right Niles. You HAVE dedicated your life to helping people. Why stop now?"

"I can't do this anymore. I have defeated my own purpose."

"Niles, there was a certain party I went to… or was it a silent auction… I remember the bottomless wine samples… Anyway, a priest came up to me. He asked me what I did for a living. I told him and he asked me how many sanities I thought I had saved. I told him that I didn't know. Then I asked him how many souls he thought he had saved. He laughed and said he didn't know. Niles, at your age, perhaps it is not time for you to look back and count the sanities you've saved, but to look forward and see how many you have yet to save. You are a great doctor and you have helped countless people. Don't let this incident stop you from using your gift to help others. Becky Williams is getting better now, but only physically. She will be transferred to a mental institution soon. Perhaps it would be best if she was helped along the way with a familiar face; a forgiving face."

Niles slowly took the frame from Frasier. His words were a little choked up. "Thank you Frasier." He wheeled himself over to the wall where the nail still marked the spot where his diploma used to be. "Frasier…"

"Yes Niles."

"Taking this down was hard enough with this cast. Could you please hang it back up for me?"

"Sure." He hurried over and hung it for him. "Well now, that's where that belongs."

"You are a good brother Frasier. And a great friend."

"You're not so bad yourself." Then Frasier said with regret, "Charlotte has to get back to her business. I can drop you off to see Becky on the way to picking up Charlotte before heading to the airport. What do you say?"

"That would be great. Thank you."

"My pleasure Niles." Frasier started to push him toward the door, but Niles held the wheels stopping him.

He repeated, "Thank you Frasier."

Frasier smiled as he wheeled his brother out. The eminent Doctor Niles Crane held his head up high on the way out of his office.

When reaching the hospital, Niles said his good-byes in the parking lot and then wheeled himself inside to talk with Becky. This time he was ready to take a new approach with her. He was going in as a forgiving friend and a caring doctor. If nothing else they had injuries in common to talk, joke and laugh about. It was the greatest session that the two of them ever had. Becky knew Niles was being sincere, because psychologists usually don't make house calls, even if they are in hospitals, and very seldom on their own dime. They were now more that doctor/patient. They were good friends. Niles told her he would keep in touch with her though out and beyond her treatments in the clinic.

When Niles wheeled himself outside, the air seemed fresher and the sun was out on a beautiful Seattle day. There stood Frasier at the car in the same spot he was when he dropped Niles off. Niles wheeled himself over. "Frasier, what are you still doing here? I thought you had a plane to catch."

"I did. Then I thought what the hell, I'm going to have that cup of coffee at Nervosa with my brother."

Niles smiled. "I'm glad you did."

He helped load Niles into the passenger seat. "So, I called Charlotte and told her I'd meet up with her in Chicago in a day or so and then asked Dad to drive her to the airport." He lifted the wheelchair into the back.

"Say Frasier, do you think this tie is too busy for this jacket?"

Frasier got into the driver's side and started the car. "Well no Niles, but I do think it is acute with the cast."

As the car pulled out of the parking lot, Niles commented, "Well I was going to go with my brown loafers, but how obscure would it be to wear one brown loafer with a cast?"

THE END

I want to thank Andrea and Kristen for being my inspiration, Kristen for keeping me straight with the storyline, and Andrea, Kristen and Leighann for all the wonderful reviews.


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